‘Pay-to-Pay’ fees on monthly bills hurt Canadians

Canada’s New Democrats launched a campaign Wednesday to eliminate extra charges for receiving a monthly bill in the mail. Over the last year many telephone, internet, TV and other companies have introduced new monthly charges on customers who continue to receive a paper copy of their bill in the mail.

“When’s the last time you bought anything and had to pay extra for the bill it was written on?” asked Andrew Cash, NDP MP for Davenport.

Cash is calling on the federal government to prohibit these ‘Pay-to-Pay’ fees that unfairly target Canadian seniors, and Canadian families already struggling to pay their bills, as well as those who do not have regular access to the internet or do not feel comfortable performing such transactions online.

Some companies have claimed this is an attempt to reduce paper but Cash said, “If they were serious about going green, they would have offered a discount for customers that use online billing rather than penalize those who can’t easily make the transition.”

A growing number of companies have indicated they are adding these charges even though they have already raked in huge savings from those customers who have voluntarily switched to online billing.

“This is a clear cash-grab worth millions of dollars, and Canadian seniors are largely the ones being stuck with the bill,” said Cash.